Ash Seeketh Embers
by VereorFaux
Summary: In the face of defeat, things we leave behind are often the things that make us go back for them. Only, after all the warmth had left her, all that remains of Pyrrha Nikos are the ashes that make up her body. Desperately grasping for the warmth to feel alive again, Pyrrha tries to find her friends, who are scattered over the world. So it is that ash seeketh embers.
1. Ashes and Regrets

**Chapter 1**

* * *

My chest hurt before the arrow hit. The pangs of regret, the fear of death, the error that became all too apparent in the face of defeat. Maybe, after all this time, I had grown overconfident. I knew that I had a long way to go before I would even reach the levels of the likes of Ozpin, despite all the assurances that I was a prodigy.

Right now, all I had left were regrets. I, Pyrrha Nikos, was a murderer. A failure, and a far cry from the hero I wanted to be. On the battlefield and in love, I ended up drawing the shorter straw.

The arrow itself was comparable to the thorn of a cactus. It only amplified the regret, the miserable feeling of failure.

The woman stepped forward, putting her hand on my head. I stared at her, my mouth agape, unable to form words. She was warm. I felt warm.

My body exploded in pain. Not figuratively, no. I did not have the mercy of a quick death. Every single part of me fall apart. I could, out of the corner of my eye, see someone. A familiar face.

Ruby.

I couldn't say anything. I wanted to tell her to run. I wanted to tell her to take care of Jaune for me. I wanted to tell her so many things, and instead, my vision faded.

Ashes.

I felt like ashes.

If I still had a stomach, I suppose the feeling that spread through me right now was sickness. I wanted to throw up, but I couldn't exactly place where my mouth was.

And now, after all the warmth was gone, after the arrow that had pierced my chest left and nothing of me remained, I felt cold.

More than cold. I was freezing, as if standing in the middle of a blizzard. The modicum of comfort I had from Cinder's grasp made my death even more painful.

I hadn't imagined that death would give me so much time to think, to lament over what had happened. If there was simply nothing for someone like me on the other side, then perhaps I deserved nothing more.

"Oh my, lookie." Whose voice was that? Where did it come from. The feeling of sickness increased in its intensity. "Another one bites the dust, eh? Or is it ashes?"

I opened my mouth. I wanted to say something. I couldn't.

The fact that I was slowly feeling limb after limb return was strange enough to knock me out of my stupor of dying.

I gasped, trying to breathe through my newly formed mouth, but my lungs were burning, as if refusing to take in the oxygen. My chest was back too, it hurt, I grabbed it, trying to distract myself from the pain by stabbing my nails into my skin. And there were my hands.

"Don't breathe," the voice said. Male. Cocky. Annoying. "It hurts the more you try. You don't need to."

I didn't want to listen to him, but his words held some truth. The more I tried to breathe in, the sharper I felt the pain.

"Oh hey! I know you!" he said, as if noticing something he hadn't noticed before. "You're some big shot huntress-in-training! Never liked Beacon, to be honest, there's a bunch of brats who kept foiling my plans."

I blinked. My eyes opened slowly and closed again, repeatedly until I was able to keep them open. In front of a very dark background, a face stared at me. Yelping, I tried to stand up, smashing my forehead into his nose.

"OW! You fucking- holy shit what was that for, you psycho!?" he shouted, holding his nose. His voice sounded strained and a bit off, and she could get a better look at him now. His orange hair stood out under his dark hat, as did his bright white outfit in front of the still darkened place. In his hands, he held a cane. "This is it? My fucking afterlife?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, removing myself from the ground and dusting myself off. It was a stone floor, old, from the looks of it, yet I couldn't say where I was without seeing anything else.

I could barely see in this dark. It was concerning.

"Sorry," I said. "You surprised me."

Afterlife, he said. He was dead too? Or... were we? I couldn't say for sure, my body hurt. If I was feeling pain, I was still alive. But...

My right hand moved to my left wrist. I didn't breathe, but maybe I could still feel my pulse. Hope welled up in my chest, and vanished.

No pulse. The cold from before was still grasping at me, the pain in my chest and forehead dulled.

"Who are you?" I asked. He glared at me, apparently still unhappy about my improper greeting to his nose.

He clicked his tongue. "It's impolite to ask someone for their name without offering your own, Miss."

"Cut that out," I said. "You know who I am, you said so. I don't know who you are."

"Tsk." He clicked his tongue again, his eyes wandering down. I crossed my arms over my chest. "Roman Torchwick, and you're Pyrrha Nikos."

Having someone know my name wasn't that strange. The fact that he wasn't exactly inclined to be polite to me despite recognizing who I was... it wasn't bad. Not really good enough to wipe away the first impression I got from the foul-mouthed man, but not bad.

"Do you know where we are?"

"No," Roman said. "I woke up here a while ago, haven't really done much exploring, you know? It's rather spooky, if you get what I'm saying."

I couldn't tell if he was joking or if he was actually that cowardly. Maybe a bit of both - despite the unfamiliar situation, he seemed rather nonchalant. I would have to consider the possibility of him lying to me, though.

"You said something about 'afterlife'," I said. He grinned at me.

"Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure I died," he said. "Really shitty situation, got eaten by a Grimm, hurts like a bitch."

"I..." I began, checking my chest. No wound. "I was fighting someone, she killed me. I'm sure of it."

"Then that answers the questions of where we are," he said. "You think there's some welcoming committee?"

"No," I said. It was more concerning than that. The Grimm, the White Fang, everything that was happening. If this was actually the afterlife, why weren't there more people? "I'm wondering what you're doing here."

"What?" he asked. "Hellooo? I just answered that. Prim and proper freshly deceased here! You just regenerated from ashes into bones and flesh, too."

My eyebrows furrowing, I sighed. "That's not what I meant. I mean, the city was under attack, so many people died, why are we the only ones here?"

"No clue," he said, shrugging. "Maybe it's hell, you know, place for bad people."

"Bad people?" I asked, my stomach sinking. Yes, I, I did something horrible. I wouldn't say I'm the religious kind of person, far from it, but I've sinned. Hell sounded appropriate.

"You know, murderers, rapists, all that," he said. My stomach sunk further, and the feeling of sickness increased once more. "So, what did you do? Kinda hard to imagine a kid ending up in hell."

I shook my head. If this was actually the reason we ended up in here, I had no reason to do small-talk with some person who admitted to being 'bad'. If he was a murderer, then he was the worst possible company.

Just like me.

I grit my teeth.

"Let's look around," I said, walking away. Maybe we could find an answer about what this place actually was, because I doubted that it was simply hell. I'm not convinced that I had somehow survived that attack, considering we're both left with memories of how we died.

"Are you sure? Maybe someone else will follow? Can't be all angels, honestly."

I turned towards him before staring back at the spot I woke up on. He wasn't wrong.

"Alright," I said. A few hours. No more people should arrive after a few hours, because we would have gotten the situation under control. There was no way that the madwoman had enough power to take an entire kingdom on her own.


	2. Friends and Memories

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Nobody.

Absolutely nobody arrived. I don't know if that meant that the catastrophe has been averted or if the people responsible had won and none of them died. Because if this was hell, there was no way they wouldn't arrive here as well.

"Looks like it's just you and me, babe," Roman said, his hands behind his head, lying on the ground. He had been trying to start a conversation, trying to distract himself. I had more patience, I could meditate, ignore him and wait those hours without much of an issue. "Still wanna look around?"

"Yes," I said. No point in waiting any more. "Where should we start?"

He shrugged. "No idea, can't see very far anyway. All I found was that door down that hall. Haven't exactly been exploring this place before you crashed here."

"Not that the darkness does us any favors," I said. "You're not hiding some faunus features under that hat, are you?"

"Please don't compare me to those mongrels," he said, standing up. "I have my own way of dealing with the dark."

He raised his cane up and pressed some button. A weapon, then, he didn't really look that weak, but I hadn't actually expected him to be armed. My hands moved to my weapons as a bright bullet exploded out of the cane's tip.

He caught the bullet on the cane, balancing it like some kind of jester. It wasn't a torch, but it would do, illuminating our surroundings in a soft red glow.

"Not bad," I admitted. He smiled. "Could be better, though."

The corners of his lips twitched downwards, and he moved forward, leading the way. There was only one real exit out of the room, an arch leading into a hallway. The stones around us looked broken, old, as if the passage of time had wasted them long before we came here.

Stairs greeted us at the end of it.

"Ladies first," he said. To his credit, his voice wasn't even quivering, despite the rather nervous stance he held. I didn't trust him further than I could throw him, but walking in front of him shouldn't have been that much of a problem.

Grabbing my sword, or rather, all that remained of my spear, and my shield, I moved up. The light behind me threw a large shadow in front of me.

"Move it up," I said. "I can't see anything in front of me."

He did as I asked, balancing the strange glowing bullet on the tip and illuminating the path in front of me again. Only seventy-eight steps later, we finally arrived at the end.

And my legs hurt.

It was a feeling I had forgotten. I was sure that if I had to breathe, I would be out of breath right now. Torchwick breathed a sigh of relief when we stumbled away from the stairs and he sat down, the bullet rolling down on the ground.

What greeted us now was the sight of a large hall. It was symmetrical, more stairs leading upwards, to another floor. Five thrones sat at the top, symbols engraved into four of them. I couldn't quite decipher them, but something about them was familiar. The fifth throne, right in the middle, was broken, nothing engraved onto it.

"Well, I guess that's it," he said. I took a glance at him, lying on the ground, staring at the ceiling. "No exit. This is hell, no doubt."

"No," I said. "I don't believe that. There would be more people here."

"Maybe we just have to wait our turn," he said, shrugging. "Look, doll, it's not every day you die, not like we know what happens, right?"

"Don't call me that," I said. The nicknames just got more annoying. "We haven't seen everything yet. Maybe there's-"

"Nah, pretty sure this is it," he said, interrupting me.

I didn't want it to be true. I had things to live for, people to live for. I had people to return to. Friends, family, Jaune.

"You seem awfully at ease with this," I said. Torchwick gave me a strange smile.

"I've had a while before I was digested, actually," he said. I winced, he did say he was eaten by a Grimm, but he didn't really go into details. "It's easy to find peace with your death when everything beforehand is just pain."

"Sorry," I said. "Wasn't that much different for me."

I think that discussing the circumstances of one's death with someone was pretty far down on the list of things people could use for smalltalk.

"It could always be worse," Roman said, standing up. Apparently he recovered from the stair-climb, and I felt strength return to my legs as well.

"Really?" I asked. "What's so much worse than dying and having no idea if your friends and family are okay?"

"Oh, I could give you a list," he said. "Number one! Being paralyzed from the neck down and unable to take care of yourself while your family starves themselves off to pay for your medicine bills!"

I looked away. Yeah, that did sound bad.

"Number two! Having all your limbs removed, starting with the tip of your fingers and toes in the slowest way possible to keep you aliv-"

"Okay, okay, shut up, I get the picture," I said, shuddering. "What kind of person makes a list like that?"

"The kind of person that threatens people with things like that~" he said. I was reminded that the man in front of me had admitted to being a 'bad person'. While he wasn't very detailed on his 'crime' and mine was the murder of an innocent girl, I had the feeling that his definition of 'bad' was bad.

"You sound like you're fun at parties."

"I'm the bomb, sugar!"

"Don't call me that either."

"You're the worst company ever, and that's saying something, my best friend doesn't even speak."

"Sounds like you need better friends," I said. "Or more."

I really hope Ruby got away after I...

"I have a lot of friends, Cereal Girl," he said, spreading his arms. "Lots of subordinates too."

"I don't think that counts," I said. "Friends are people you can trust unconditionally. Who will help you through the hardest of times."

He looked annoyed. A sore spot, something to remember just in case. Despite his easygoing attitude and annoying habits, he didn't seem as bad as he tried to make himself out to be. Or, much more probable, he is trying to seem more approachable because I'm his only contact here.

People don't like being alone, I couldn't fault blame him for that.

"Alright, Roman," I said. "You think this is hell, and we have to wait our turn, right?"

"Pretty sure," he said, grinning smugly.

"Do you know how many people die every day?" I asked. "Not just good people, all kinds of people, men and women who've committed their fair share of crimes."

"Dunno, a few?"

"Try a lot," I said. "Especially when Grimm are involved. Criminals like that just draw those monsters to them with the fear they inflict in people, all that negativity."

"So you're saying this isn't hell," he said.

"I'm saying we shouldn't draw any conclusions."

"Alright, girl scout," he said. If I tell him to stop it, he would just find another nickname. "I'll play ball with you. What should we do?"

"No idea," I admitted. He smiled, his shoulders shaking slightly as laughter bubbled out of his throat. He looked genuinely amused, and I couldn't help but smile too.

"Alright, I got a plan," he said. "Just to check, alright?"

"Check what?" I asked. He lifted his cane and aimed at me. My eyes widened, and I lifted my shield. "What the-"

He didn't shoot me, though. He used my defensive position to prevent me from stopping him fast enough. When he twisted his cane around and shot himself in the stomach, I was on him, knocking him over. I was a second too late.

"OW!" he shouted. "HOLY SHIT THIS HURTS!"

I pushed my hands over the wound. No aura, nothing that would have stopped the shot from this range.

"Of course it hurts!" I shouted back. "You shot yourself!"

"No, not that!" he said. "Your hands! Those man-hands of yours are hurting me!"

I frowned. I didn't feel any blood. He... right. No pulse. Removing my hands, and watching him sigh in relief, I found a hole in his clothes, but no wound.

"Did you use some trick bullet?" I asked.

"Nah," he said. "It came through, hurt a lot, but the pain was gone quickly. We're dead. Now would you mind removing yourself from me, pretty sure you ain't legal yet."

I stood up, helping him to his feet. As crude as he was, he wasn't stupid. I looked at my sword, slowly lifting it to my finger. Cutting into it, I watched as a wound opened, and closed again.

Torchwick fired at his feet. Then at his shoulder. I watched as he kept firing, some of the bullets brightening up the room further as he actually played around with self-harm.

"What is wrong with you?" I asked.

"This is kinda fun," he said. "And I'm bored. You're not really fun to be around."

"I'm loads of fun," I said, looking away. "My friend says so."

"Yeah, right." He shrugged, aiming at his stomach again. He fired. "Hrk."

"Hm?"

His eyes widened, and he looked down at his stomach where the wound wasn't closing this time.

"Roman, what did you do?" I asked. It wasn't bleeding, but he still looked like he was in pain. His mouth opened and closed a few times. "This isn't the time for jokes, Roman, what-"

He fell forward, his body falling apart.

I saw something on him. A symbol, a circle on the back of his neck, visible as his hair began to turn to ashes from the tips towards the roots.

Unconsciously, my hand moved to the same spot, and I could feel it. A symbol, engraved, hidden by my hair as well.

I could only stare in silent horror as he died in front of me.

And then jump as a loud scream echoed through the entire place. His scream.

"FUCK!"

I heard him, down the hall, where we woke up.

"FUCK!"

Again, this time a bit closer. His cane has vanished as well.

"FUCK THIS HURT."

My eyes widened. He stood there, alive, without wounds, and even the holes in his clothes gone.

"I... you," I narrowed my eyes. "You... did you know this would happen? You scared me! I thought you were-"

"Dead?" he asked. "Pretty sure I still am, but no, I didn't know this would happen, this really fucking sucks. I thought dying inside a stomach was horrible, but this was fucking horrifying. My body was burning up as if someone just farted some red dust at me."

I could've lived without that image. Shaking my head, I concentrated on the rather problematic event.

"Alright, let me be honest," Roman said, raising his hands. "I felt myself getting weaker every time I shot myself. One point, boom, suddenly I felt really bad and died. Feels like I had video game HP, holy shit."

My eyebrows twitched. Not something I was very familiar with, but I knew what he meant.

"Maybe not HP," I said. I didn't like that word. "Maybe aura. You don't have any around you, neither do I, no matter how hard I try, I can't shield myself."

"So you think this is the trade-off? No wounds but no shield either until you keel over?"

"Maybe," I said.

"Lots of maybes with you, sister!" he said.

"..." I bit my lip. This didn't make any sense. I glared at Roman, still angry over the shock he gave me by suddenly dying. "Maybe."

He scowled.

"Truly," someone spoke up. Roman and I turned around, finding no one inside the now rather bright room illuminated by Roman's bullets. "This failure is not worthy of the company of thee."

I blinked. I didn't know the voice. It was deep, melancholic, and yet conveying a strange sense of happiness.

It was an old man, dressed in ragged and dirty robes, wet at some places despite no obvious water source being nearby. A beard reached down to his chest, and long hair in the same white color, as dirty and greasy as his clothes, hugged his face, hiding most of his features.

"I see the undead have finally returned," he said.

"What?" I asked.


	3. Old Men and Champions

**Chapter 3**

* * *

"Who are you?" I asked. The old man did not look at me. His glassy eyes were barely visible in the darkness, yet reflected the glow of the bullets intensely. It made me think of the eyes of a cat in the face of a camera's flash light. An uncomfortable sight.

Gazing at the spot where Roman had decided to meet his end and vanish, the man moved towards the center of the room.

Sitting down in front of the center, he began to rub his hands over the dirty stones. I wanted to speak up, but the man seemed into the task. Instead, I sat down in front of him, to see what exactly he was doing.

Instead of the normal stone floor that was everywhere around us, there were ashes in the center of the room, soft and yet heavy, pressing down on something I could barely see. Helping along by removing the ashes with my hands, it didn't take long for the thing he was digging out to become visible under the red glow of Roman's bullets.

"Ohh, shiny!" Roman said, grabbing the place next to me as his seat. "What's that, old man?"

"A relic from times long past, young master," he said. It was a… bowl? Ornate, beautiful, the dull metal and stone that made it up were cracked, but did nothing to reduce the beauty.

"Young master, hm?" Roman said, his face split by a grin. "I like that. Alright, old servant, what is this place?"

I perked up. The man put the bowl down and began gathering the ashes in his hands, filling the bowl slowly.

"This is the nexus for the undead," he said. "Those who were chosen to carry out a task."

"Yeah, no, not what I want to hear." Roman shook his head. "More specific. _Where_ is this place? Does it have a name? I'm pretty sure we're in hell, but the Missus isn't inclined to believe me."

"No," I said simply. I hoped he understood that I meant the 'missus' part of the sentence, not the rest. The old man continued without missing a beat.

"Firelink Shrine is where it's the most convenient," he said. "I could not tell you where, but if you wish, you could check for yourself, if you're up to the task."

"What do you mean?" I asked. I wasn't really a fan of all that cryptic talk that would reveal information one piece at the time, but I had patience. Roman, for all his impulsiveness, was also listening, trying to feign the fact that he wasn't interested.

"You can leave," he said. "And return the four Lord Souls to the Lordvessel. Until then, you cannot die."

"Lord Souls?" I said, my eyebrows furrowing at the unfamiliar words. Four was a rather important number for us. Four kingdoms, four schools, four team members, four Maidens.

"The souls of the Lords long past, gone now, as the fire was stolen by the dark lord," the old man answered. "The one who commands all the soulless demons, my former master."

"You mean the Grimm?" Roman asked. "Huge, black, hunger for human flesh? Ugly as fuck?"

"If that is what their forms are today, then perhaps it is those 'Grimm'," the old man continued.

"They're being controlled? You can just plain control them?"

"The Lord Souls hold dominion over them, to a degree," he said. "But the one who stands above even those, who stole the Fire from this shrine, is the most dangerous."

"Alright, back to the basics," Roman stood up. "We can leave and check where we are, right?"

"Yes." The old man nodded.

"Where's the exit?"

"There," he pointed towards the staircase behind us. The large wall didn't allow us to look over it. Roman's eyebrows twitched, and I could see an irritated look spread over his face.

"You're saying we could've walked out here the whole time and just didn't notice the _fucking door?"_

"Roman," I said. "Calm down. Let's just leave."

Turning to the old man, who was still busy shoveling ashes into the Lordvessel like a child playing in a sandlot, I smiled. Bowing to him, I spoke up, trying so keep my voice soft.

"Don't you want to come with us?"

"My place is here. This failure of a Firekeeper has no more flames left to tend to," he said. "Truly, this Age of Dark is a frightening place…"

I shook my head, sighing. Roman was already at the stairs towards the exit, not looking forward to do another climb. "Goodbye, then."

"'Til we meet again, young masters."

His words were still nagging me as we ascended the stairs. 'If we are up to the task,' he had said. Which task? Return the Lord Souls? I can't imagine anyone who left this place to voluntarily return for whatever reason.

Two large doors in jade green color were the way out, it seems, and the amount of roots that had managed to grow over it showed just how long ago it was that anyone walked around.

I stepped up to it, trying to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. Using my sword, I began cutting away the roots, hoping that it would help.

Roman helped too, shooting at some of them, though his choice of targets weren't that helpful in removing everything from the door. When most of the plants lay at our feet, I tried to open it again.

"Roman, help me out," I said. He sighed, as if honestly offended at my request, and then pushed the left door while I pushed the right. It opened, slowly.

And when it was open enough for either of us to slip through, he stopped. I did too, after another futile attempt at opening the door a bit further. It was bright outside. A stark contrast to the absolute darkness inside of the shrine, and a welcome sight.

We weren't dead. Well, maybe we were, but not gone. We could still return. By night, I could probably pinpoint our location more accurately. The sun wasn't that helpful for that.

"Alright, let's see if we can find someone to help us out," I said, walking down the steep way down.

"Yeah, alright," Roman said weakly. "Just… give me a minute. Those stairs are the worst. And that door didn't help either."

I sighed, stopping for him to regain his composure. My arms and legs hurt as well, even after that relatively small flight of stairs. I didn't really feel strong enough to take a leap towards a tree branch right now, but I guess that dying needed to have some kind of detrimental effect.

When Roman was able to take a few more steps again, we continued along the way, towards a large area with dead plants littering the ground. Something in the middle of the area caught our attention. Roman whistled.

"Impressive," he said. It was. An armor, quite a bit taller than both of us, kneeling. Towards the opposite end of the area, there was another door, and I really didn't look forward to pushing that one open. Roman approached the armor, checking it out while I approached the doors. They were smaller, maybe I could push them open myself.

Roman yelped the moment I touched the door, and I could feel a large explosion of aura behind me. Turning around, I found him in the grip of that armor. The realization that there was someone _inside_ the armor came a bit late as Roman's head was crushed in the iron grip, leaving him to fall apart into ashes once more.

My eyes widened. This thing was dangerous. Sword and shield in hand, I prepared for the monstrous knight to lunge at me, a halberd that was stuck in the ground nearby in its grasp now.

When it made a leap, I dodged forward, and it crashed into the door behind me. There was not one scratch on it as even the halberd was unable to pierce it.

This either meant that the halberd was very brittle and weak, or that this door was impossible to destroy. I hoped for the former and prepared my shield as the knight spun around.

I could block it, yes.

But my arms were weak, and I had to dodge before another spin would have sent me flying.

If I continued to be defensive, I would get nowhere.

Dodging a swipe from its hand, I stabbed it. My weapon didn't look like it actually hurt it, but I wouldn't let that get me down. I knew, after all, that wounds didn't really count for me and Roman, so why should they for this thing that was also stuck here with us?

Keeping up my game of cat and mouse, dodging and cutting into it whenever I could, I was able to keep up the rhythm for a minute.

But my legs didn't want me to continue. My arms refused to raise the sword. If I could remove its head, maybe I could kill it with one hit? I had to try, and if my sword wasn't up to the task, I would need to use its halberd.

Raising my hands, I used my Semblance to stop its two-handed swing down to my head. My aura flashed, spluttered, faded. The grip I had on the halberd left too quickly for me to notice. It stopped for just a second, and then continued its way.

It smashed into my shoulder. I was crushed, under the weight of the halberd and of my failure. Unable to scream, the pain of losing control of my entire body once more led me back into a room illuminated by a soft red glow.

When my body reformed like it did before, I gasped, and the pain in my chest began flaring up due to my futile attempt at breathing.

"Welcome back, princess," Roman muttered, looking dejected. He sat next to the old man, his knees drawn towards his chest. "Looks like the old man didn't tell us everything."

"I did tell you that you could leave," the old man said. "If you were up to the task."

"Wasn't that task bringing back the four whatever souls?" Roman asked.

"Indeed, but before one can do that, they have to defeat the champion," he said. "The one who was unable to stop the former master from stealing the fire."

"Dammit, old man!" Roman said, his voice heated. "That's the kind of stuff you need to tell us _before_ we walk into our deaths!"

"Why am I so weak?" I asked. "I can't jump as high anymore, I can't take as much, my arms don't carry my weapons like they used to."

"You lack souls," he said. Souls? Plural? "When you were alive, you had strength, you trained your body and your soul. As undead, souls are what sustain your body and keep you strong, you left all that behind when you died."

"So… I'm back to where I was before I ever trained?" I asked. My stomach plummeted. "I can train myself again, can't I?"

"Souls are power," he said. "Your body won't simply grow stronger because you exercise."

I grit my teeth, sitting down next to the old man.

How was I supposed to defeat that thing with my current strength?

It's impossible.

"I can't take it anymore," Roman muttered.


	4. Ashes and Embers

**Chapter 4**

* * *

"Defeatist?" the old man asked. By now, the bowl had been filled to the brim with ashes, and he had finally stopped. "I do not believe that one chosen by the Sign would be so quick to bend their knee."

"I'm not as strong as I used to be," I said. I couldn't die anymore, but that didn't mean the pain of dying was a minor affair. Roman hadn't exaggerated in his screams after the sudden accidental suicide.

"Perhaps," the old man said. "What lies between you and your strength is not the blood flowing in your body, but the knight that made you give up so quickly."

"Maybe," I said. Roman grunted, not too happy to talk about the armored man that had crushed his head in one hand.

"Forgive me for asking so brazenly," the old man continued. "But do you not have someone waiting for you?"

I blinked. Of course I did. I… hadn't forgotten. I couldn't forget them. Yet, my mind was hardly able to picture them, the faces of my friends.

"... old man," I said. The man looked towards me, his glassy eyes stayed unfocused. "Why can't I remember their faces?"

"The longer you are here," he said. "The more you will forget. You did not just leave your physical strength, after all. Our soul is our memory. It is our everything."

I stood up, grabbing my sword and shield. I couldn't let this be. I couldn't let myself forget. The longer I spent here, the less likely I am to find a reason to defeat that knight.

Roman grunted again, standing up and following after me. I turned towards him as we ascended the stairs.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Can't be stuck here either, I have places to be, criminal empires to build."

I scoffed, walking through the still open doors, ignoring the soreness in my legs from the quick ascension. "Here's the plan then. I will distract it, attack it from up close whenever possible, and you shoot it, alright?"

"Yeah yeah, jolly cooperation with the huntress in training, I get it," he said. "You want a job when we're out here? I could need someone with your skills."

"No thanks."

With that, we approached the gate towards the open area again.

It was shut, dark fog hanging right around it, as if blocking the way out for the armored monster. The sun was setting in front of us. Had we really wasted so much time already? Depending on where we landed, the sun could have meant we took a while to reform, or were transported to some continent where it wasn't night.

Roman approached the fog and stuck his hand through.

"I think we can walk through this."

"Alright," I said. "Let me go first, count to five, then come."

He nodded, and I began traversing the fog. Through the gate, I could see him standing there, tall and with his weapon in hand, facing us.

The armored man was waiting.

Before I could do two steps into the area, he leaped, his halberd crashing into the ground next to me as I stepped to the side and smashed my sword right in between two pieces of his armor.

It howled, thrashing around and knocking me away after hitting my shield. Roman came through, his cane aimed at the man who stood right in front of him.

"What the hell?!" he shouted. "I thought you were supposed to distract that!"

"Stop talking!" I shouted. "FIRE!"

Throwing my shield at the champion, as the old man called him, I drew his attention long enough for Roman to make a hasty retreat to a more secure location. He fired, the bullets piercing through the armor.

I had a reason to fight. I had people that I couldn't forget. I had him. And well, I had Roman, that was helpful as well.

Leaping forward and grabbing my shield, I raised it up, trying to block the attack. Instead, Roman's next attack hit his hand during the attack, knocking the champion's aim off and leaving him wide open.

"GO!" Roman shouted. I did, my sword gripped in both hands, I jumped, far less than what I had been able to do just yesterday, and rammed the sword into the opening the helmet left for the eyes.

It flinched, staggering backwards and falling onto its back. Taking the opportunity, I removed my sword and stabbed down again, this time into another opening. Before I could bring my sword down a third time, it stood up, knocking me over. I could feel the tiredness in my arms already.

Roman came, firing one of his bullets into the air and then knocking it towards the armored man. It exploded right in his face, giving me enough time to avoid the thrashing after my attacks presumably blinded him.

It didn't take long for him to grab his halberd again.

"Nothing we do hurts him," Roman said.

"Wrong," I said. "It hurts him, he just…"

"Has more HP?" Roman tried.

"Stop calling it that!" I said. The openings on the helmet flashed up in a red light. "I think he's angry."

Leaping at me twice twice the speed from before, I dodged backwards. Raising my shield just in time, the grip of his halberd smashed into it, knocking me up. My stomach hurt, and it didn't stop, its shoulder smashing into my shield once more, shattering it. A pang of regret accompanied by pain in my back as I met the wall. Standing up as the pain left me, I knew I was about to reach my limit.

The monstrous man roared inside his armor, and spun around, hitting Roman who blocked the attack with his cane. It held strong, but Roman was thrown away. Whatever his weapon was made of, I wanted a piece of it for a new shield.

Concentrating on Roman left it distracted enough for me to sneak up on it and grab onto its back, piercing another opening that Roman's shots had done to its armor. It threw itself onto its back, crushing me under it. I screamed, the pain was bad, but still not as bad as dying. I had a chance to fight back. Twisting the sword gave Roman the opening her needed.

Shot after shot fired at the things head, until I felt it grow lighter.

And lighter.

Roman sighed, falling onto his knees, glaring at me as the armored man vanished into ashes. And before I could say anything, I felt stronger. I felt warm.

And all my energy returned. Then, I felt even more strength return. White mist entered my body, and I could see Roman enjoying the same comfort. Standing up, I checked myself over. My shield was still broken, but the rest was okay.

"Daaaamn," Roman said. "I'm on fire!"

He looked at his hands, where small embers sat on his fingertips. Looking at my own, I saw the same.

The sun had set, but I couldn't really see any stars at the moment.

"Let's…"

The word left my mouth as the door at the end of the area opened.

Through it, I could see something strange. Not the ruins around us, but a modern city. I blinked, it was familiar, I could have sworn I saw it before.

Stepping towards it, Roman following right behind me, I took another peek, much closer now.

"Hmph." Roman shrugged. "Looks like our way out."

"Looks like it," I said. "What are you gonna do?"

"No idea, need to find people, do shit, you know?" he said. "Do you know where we are?"

"Maybe we should just ask around?"

He shrugged again, and we stepped through the doors.

Behind us was no shrine, there was no simple arch that led to the open area. Instead, all we saw was a glowing portal, and people who walked around us as if they didn't see it. The portal's pitch black edges looked as if they could cut something, and looking around it, I found the other way of the portal to lead to just the same area.

"Weird," he said, putting his hand through. "You think it's because we're dead?"

"We're not dead," I said. "We're with living people."

"Yeah, right, maybe this is the actual afterlife?" he asked. I sighed, stepping towards a woman who was carrying a child.

"Excuse me," I said, smiling. The woman smiled back at me. "Can you tell us where we are? We seem to be lost."

"How would that happen?" she asked, her voice soft. "This is Vytal, dear. North of Vale."

I blinked.

"What?" Roman asked, rather loudly. I grinned, thanking the woman and turning back to him.

"See!" I said. "Totally alive!"

He grabbed his wrist, felt for a pulse, tried to breathe and keeled over in pain.

My heart sank.

"Okay," I said. "Maybe not totally alive."


	5. Weeks and Information

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Jaune. Ren. Nora. Yang. Ruby. Weiss. Blake.

The names were accompanied by faces, and I could feel relief flooding through my body as I finally remembered my friends.

Roman checked his pockets.

"Dammit," he said. "Do you have any money on you? I need a phone."

"Sorry," I said. His shoulders slumping, Roman made his way towards a wall and sat down there. "Maybe we could ask someone?"

"Don't know how it works in your world, but people aren't generally all that friendly if you try to lend money from them," Roman said. "Maybe find a store first and just steal it."

"We're not going to steal," I said. Exasperation didn't even cover half of what I was feeling when he kept suggesting something this atrocious.

"So, no money, no idea how to get away from this island-"

"We can just ask someone for their scroll, contact our friends and ask them to help us out."

"You've got a point," he said. The way he said it, however, didn't quite do enough to convince me that he wouldn't try to steal money. I had to keep an eye on him. The portal was still floating there, just in between two buildings.

"Alternative suggestion," I said, walking down the street. He fell into step beside me. "We find the people that take care of the Grimm nearby and ask them for help."

"Oh gee, the boy scouts? I don't think we get along, you know, my face might have appeared in the news?"

"I don't think I've ever seen you in TV, Mr. Gang Lord," I said, trying my best to sound smug. I don't think I succeeded, but he growled anyway. Admittedly, I haven't exactly watched much TV in a long time. Most of my time was spent training with Jaune or going to classes.

"Not even the breakfast news?" he asked. "Come on, my arrest must've done big news, I was locked up by Atlas for fuck's sake!"

"Not so loud," I said, hissing the words as I threw an arm around his shoulder, trying to keep him down. "The only reason I'm not taking you in either considering everything you keep admitting to me is because you helped me out, we're even, okay?"

He clicked his tongue, annoyed, but resigned. Shaking my head, I removed my arm from his shoulders and let him walk normally again. "Alright, so what if they recognize me?"

"Then we have nothing to do with each other," I said.

"Or I can kill myself and land at the shrine again," he suggested. I stared at him, attempting to find out if he was joking or not. For someone who was so open and flamboyant, he was surprisingly hard to read.

"You're awful company."

"I try." He scoffed, one hand behind his head as he used his cane weapon to take step after step. That feigned noble kind of look he was trying to go with really didn't fit him at all, and I couldn't help it. Chuckling as I continued along, towards the edge of the city.

I caught Roman take a glance at a store when we crossed a street. When he stopped, I turned around, narrowing my eyes.

"We are not going to steal, Roman," I said. He shook his head, pointing at the shopping window where a big screen was displaying the news. "What is it?"

"The date," he said, pale. "Look at the date."

My gaze moved downwards to the display of the clock, which spun after a few seconds and showed the date. That… that couldn't be right.

"Two weeks?" Roman asked. I shook my head, staring at the screen. "Were we gone that long?"

"It's… no," I said. "We were barely there a day, the sun was setting, you saw it, it's getting dark here too."

"What if reforming took a while?" he asked. "Or maybe staying inside the temple fucks up our time?"

No. I shook my head, trying to clear the jumbled mess that was my thoughts. If we were gone for weeks, who knew what had happened? Most people here seemed calm and happy, did that mean that the attack has been averted? I dreaded to ask people, but if we could find the hunters…

"Let's ask someone," I said, dragging him with me by the shoulder.

"Ow, ow, ow, okay, let me walk!" he said, slapping my hand away and following my fast pace towards the larger wall that was placed at the edge of the city. The glowing edges of my skin let the occasional ember fall off, and I could see Roman's jacket slightly singed. Perhaps there was more to the fiery feeling in my chest than just a visual effect.

"Sorry," I said. Not really. Apologizing for the inconvenience has become almost a reflex to me, as annoying as that was to admit. It's not that I hung out with people as unlikeable as Roman that often either, so maybe there was some positivity in this. A small change of perspective. "We're there."

The gates stood tall, and I could see a team of four sitting at the top of it, keeping watch for any Grimm that might try to approach. Most of the time, it was the younger Grimm, the weaker ones, that attacked and died quickly, which is why keeping smaller islands and settlements protected with just a single team was generally quite easy.

Standing at the base of the wall, I looked up, Roman looking awfully uncomfortable.

"Excuse me!" I shouted. One of them, a man with bright green hair, looked down. "I had a question!"

His eyes flashed. Recognition? If he knew who I was, that would make all of this easier. Instead of answering me, however, he said something to his team members.

All of them jumped down, surrounding Roman with their various weapons drawn.

"Roman Torchwick," the green haired man said. "We will be placing you under arrest for aiding and abetting the attack at the Vytal Festival."

I felt sick, my mouth opening and closing a few times as I tried to find the words. He said he was a bad guy. A criminal. He made it obvious, but I still had that question nagging on me, something I had to ask. Unable to let the words leave my lips, I simply mouthed 'Why?'.

He grinned at me. "Told you I'm a big name."

One of them turned to me. A woman with the same hair color as Roman.

"Are you with him?" she asked. Roman dropped his cane and raised his hands.

"Oh no, I'm afraid not," he said. "She captured me, after all."

I wanted to open my mouth and protest, but I couldn't. The woman stepped up to me and gave me a pat on the shoulder. "Good job. Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Oh yeah," Roman said, still jeering, sounding too happy about the whole situation. "That's Pyrrha Nikos, you know, that girl on the cereal-"

The other two members of the team dragged him off, not letting him continue. The woman's eyes widened, staring at me before grabbing her scroll and typing something into it.

"She looks like her," the woman confirmed. The green haired man nodded. "Excuse me, Miss Nikos, but are you not supposed to be… you know, dead?"

I was still staring at Roman in the distance. He was responsible? No, he aided them. He mentioned Atlas, after all. So he was with that woman?

"I…" I said, my voice hoarse. Coughing. "I don't know what happened. I fought… I fought that woman…"

"Cinder Fall," the green haired man said.

She's Cinder and I'm ashes now. How… fitting. My stomach sunk. Shaking my head, I tried to clear it, find the words, ask the important questions. Jaune, Nora, Ren, Yang, Weiss, Blake… Ruby.

"Ruby Rose," I said. "She was there when I fought, do you know what happened to her?"

"No news about that," the woman continued, using her scroll to dig for information. "If she was dead, we would know. Can you tell us what happened?"

I opened my mouth, but before I could answer, I heard a gunshot ring in the distance.

Roman's form fell over, and even from this far, I could see half his face blasted off. He wasn't joking. And if his cane was here, he must have used something to kill himself. I could see his form turn into ashes.

I fell to my knees as the green haired man rushed to his teammates' sides. The woman in front of me put her hand on my shoulder again. I felt myself getting stronger, the souls that I had shared with the kill of the champion moving towards me as Roman's form fell apart.

And I could feel them. The souls of everyone around me. I had the urge to grasp them, take them. It made me sick, tears welling up in my eyes.


	6. Names and Lists

**Chapter 6**

* * *

They led me towards a small building, their base of operations while staying here to defend the citizens. I hadn't responded to any of their questions, and I knew it would just worry them if I kept ignoring them any further. My arms crossed to hide the burning tips of my fingers in between armpits, I stared at a wall. The woman came, putting a steaming cup of tea in front of me.

Her orange-ish hair hung down to her shoulders where it touched her purple armor. Not the strangest color I had seen someone in, but definitely up there.

"I'm Ametrine," she introduced herself. "I'm sure you have questions on your own, I apologize if we made you uncomfortable. It couldn't have been easy seeing someone die like that."

"It's…" What could I say? 'Alright'? That didn't really fit, but considering I've seen him die three times by now, I didn't really feel that uncomfortable. He'll reform. It will hurt, but after a few minutes he will be alright again. "Sorry, I've had a rough time lately. Could you contact Headmaster Ozpin? There's something I need to tell him."

Ametrine's eyes widened slightly. Even as she schooled her features right afterwards, it was too late for me not to notice. When I narrowed my eyes at her, about to ask the question, she sighed, resigned.

"Headmaster Ozpin is missing," she said. "Since that attack by Cinder Fall and the White Fang."

I knew Cinder had defeated him, but missing?

"You're not telling me everything," I said. I didn't want to accuse anyone of lying considering how much information I had given up about my situation, but missing seemed too simple.

"I… alright, you're an adult, you can take it," she said, as if having to confirm it to herself with words once again. "He's presumed dead, actually. There's no proof, no witnesses. One of your classmates reported your death, however, the poor thing must've been confused."

Ruby. I shook my head. She saw me die, she knows I couldn't be alive. I didn't have her number memorized, I didn't know any number's outside of Jaune's...

"Can… can I call someone?" I asked, my hands shaking slightly. I could call him, hear his voice, tell him I'm alright. The woman pulled out her scroll and handed it to me. Hoping that my fingers won't burn it, I slowly dialed his number.

It gave one ring before the automatic answer came: "This number is not available."

"It's… he's not picking up," I muttered. She took her scroll back when I shoved it over to her.

"You have to remember that the system completely fell apart for a while when the White Fang hacked it," Ametrine said. "Some numbers might be lost in the system, or their scroll might have broken during the fighting going on."

"You're right," I said. "But, just in case, can you give me a list of names of deceased Beacon students? I need to know if my friends are on there."

"It's not a short list," the woman said, worry lacing her voice. "Separating by schools wasn't really possible when the evacuation happened, so I could give you the normal list, or you can wait for me to compile the Beacon one."

"No, it's alright," I said. "I just want to know, my friends, they are…"

Jaune. Ren. Nora. Yang. Weiss. Ruby. Blake.

I had to remember those names. Those faces.

She sighed, accepting my decision. I took the cup of tea as she turned around, moving to a computer in the corner of the room. When the tea touched my lips, I tasted nothing.

Not even the heat. The most delicious smell around here was that of Ametrine, something inviting, enticing. Now, for the first time since waking up, I wasn't glad that I had 'reformed'. I felt disgusted by myself, by what I had become. I could control myself, I knew that, but I also knew that I'm not infallible.

Lashing out against Jaune has proven that well enough.

I had to find them. Go to Beacon and find out where they are. What they are doing. How they have been. I had to confirm that I am still human.

Ametrine stepped towards me after printing out the list. Five pages long, fifty names a page. Civilians, hunters-in-training, teachers. Two-hundred and fifty deceased men, women and children.

And Roman was responsible for it. The White Fang was responsible for it.

Cinder Fall was responsible for it.

I took the list, carefully grasping it in a way that left my burning fingertips as far from he paper as possible. She probably noticed, as my hands were shaking and small embers fell from it, but didn't mention it. Ametrine sat down in front of me again as I started looking through the list.

It was sorted alphabetically, and as much as I wanted to just go down and find my friends on the list, I couldn't. I stared at the names, each of them, I read every single one. Every extinguished life that had not ended up at the shrine with me and Roman.

When I finally reached 'Ar', Jaune was not on the list. Neither was Belladonna, Blake. No Lie, Ren. No Rose, Ruby. No Schnee, Weiss. No Valkyrie, Nora. No Xiao Long, Yang. It was a relief, a blessing. I was glad, even though I had no right to be.

After all, Nikos, Pyrrha was a name on the list.

And that means that two-hundred and forty-nine people who could have been revived with me did not.

I took the list, folded it and put it into my pocket. Standing up, I moved towards the door.

"Where are you going?" the huntress behind me asked.

"I have something to do before leaving Vytal," I said. "I'll be back in a bit, alright?"

At least I hoped it would be a bit. If the time was really wonky in the shrine, it might be a few days before I walked out again.

I might have hurried a bit too much, but my legs did not hurt. The souls, this power, it put me back at the level I was before Cinder had killed me. At a level where I could fight a Grimm without being worried and torn to pieces.

Back in the alley, the portal was still floating there.

Looking around to see if the hunters had been following me, I took a step through after confirming they weren't nearby. The area was still empty, the champion still gone.

Walking the way up to the shrine, I found the still open doors and moved inside. Instead of darkness, I found a bit of fire in the middle of the bowl that the old man had filled with ashes.

Staring down from the stairs, I also saw Roman, sitting next to the old man, his knees drawn to his chest. He looked resigned, annoyed, all kinds of stuff.

My hands were shaking as I balled them into fists, and I stomped down the stairs. When they heard me, Roman and the old man turned around. He didn't really look too happy to see me.

"What are you doing here? Ended up biting the dust again?" he asked. The tone of his voice was soft.

"No," I said. "I… you, you lied to me."

"Never did," he said, his hands raised. He didn't, but it was the first thing that my brain gave me. "I said I'm a criminal, I was _pretty_ specific in some regards. You can't say you didn't expect that."

"I didn't expect genocide," I said, heat in my voice. "You are a monster."

"Maybe." He shrugged, his hands behind his head as he lay down on the stone floor. "So, what are you gonna do? Arrest me? I'll just go kill myself again. Sitting here is pretty shitty, considering I'm a wanted man outside and can't get out without contacting my partners."

"Your partner who killed me," I said, glaring at him. He blinked.

"Huh?"

"Cinder Fall;" I said. "She killed me."

"Well, that's new," he said. "See? We're learning so much about each other!"

I wanted to punch him. Instead, I grabbed the folded pages inside my pocket and pulled them out, unfolding them before throwing them at his feet.

"Two-hundred and forty-nine names," I said. He blinked at me, confusion on his face. "Two-hundred and forty-nine deaths you're responsible for."

"That sounds like a strangely specific number," he muttered, not sounding jovial. He stood up, touching the first page.

"It was exactly two-hundred and fifty," I said. "But it didn't stick with me."

He didn't say anything, his eyes moving over the list.

Due to the nature of names nowadays, it's quite possible that many people share the same name, even the same last name.

To further specify who is meant, the date of birth is put behind the name.

When he reached the first child on the list, only three names down, he stopped, scowling.

"Doing what you do to live at the expense of people," I began, my hands still shaking. "Is not a life worth living, Roman Torchwick."

"Maybe," he said. "But considering there's no life in me left, I suppose I don't really need to do anything at the expense of people anymore, do I?"

I scowled back at him. When he folded the papers, I expected him to just chuck them into the small fire in front of him.

Instead, he pocketed them.


	7. Crowns and Friendship

**Chapter 7**

* * *

I hadn't even noticed that the old man got up and stood in front of me, bowing slightly. "I have been awaiting your return, young master."

Furrowing my brows, I took a step backwards, away from the old man. I got a different feeling from him than from the others. Instead of being 'empty' like Roman or full of souls like the hunters, he was the opposite. It was as if he was the one who pulled on the souls that the Champion had dropped.

"Ashen one," he said, using yet another strange title. "Let those sovereign souls become your strength."

I took another step back, the feeling of having something pulled out of me vanishing. He knelt, his body creaking, and his breath hitching as his body lowered in front of me. Raising his hands, he pointed them towards me.

"He kinda explained it to me," Roman said. "Those souls you got? You will lose them when you die again, same as with me. So when he does that thing, you can keep the souls even if you die."

Considering how strong I felt right now, I didn't really look forward to losing it again. Right now, I needed all the help I could get, which made my choice simple. Stepping forward, I put one hand into his, and the man whispered something.

Then the pull came. The souls left my body and gathered in his hands, formless white fog that became bigger and bigger the more he took from me. After I felt empty, completely drained, the old man lowered his hands and the souls smashed into me like a train, knocking the wind out of me.

I gasped, my strength returning. It was an unpleasant feeling. Not a painful one, but unpleasant nonetheless. My hands were shaking as I let go of the old man's hands.

"I, I'm not sure," I said. "What if I am not near the portal when I have more souls to take in? I can't just return here that easily all the time."

"Fate demands you to return homeward to the shrine," he said. I wouldn't exactly call it home, but it wasn't the worst place to call such. Besides the fact that everything is empty. "I have prepared something for you that shall lead you to me whenever you desire."

He moved to the small flames in the center and dug around the embers with his bare fingers. After a bit of digging, a crown appeared from the ashes, quite unlike the tiara I had lost after my death. It was long, sharp, burnt. I approached him, taking the crown as he offered it.

"What should I do with this?" I asked.

"Wear it," he said. "And if you ever desire to return to the Firelink Shrine, simply demand it, and a door shall open."

"Can I use it to return wherever I was?" I asked. I could be helpful if I was returning to Beacon, and I didn't want to make my way back there from Vytal every time.

The man nodded. It really wasn't my style, but I had no other place to put it other than my head. The crown itself didn't really seem like it had any power that came from souls. Roman snorted when he saw me put it on.

"Can I just take it? It seems rather valuable."

I wanted him to say no so I could take it off, but he just nodded. Roman was shaking in barely restrained laughter.

"It's simply the crown of a former king, long burnt out, long gone," the old man said. "I am sure that he would want you to use it, for your quest."

"What quest?" I asked. He had mentioned something before, about four souls, something about his former master.

"To return the lord souls back to the first flame," he said. "And kindle the fire again. The last embers have been stolen, however. It cannot be kindled before they are returned."

What was so hard about kindling fire again? There was some fire burning on _ashes_ of all things in the middle of the room.

"Are you sure that you can't just use red dust?" I asked. I knew that hoping for such a simple solution to work was going to disappoint me anyway, but stabbing into the dark was better than taking everything he said at face value.

"The lord souls and embers need to be returned," he said, his voice resolute. "And you will bring them back."

"I will do nothing of the sorts," I said. "I'm very thankful for all your help, but I have responsibilities, people who are waiting for me. I can't just go on some errand for you-"

"Even if it meant the end of all Grimm?" Roman asked. I stopped, staring at him. "His former master controls them, you get those 'embers' back, you control them or destroy them."

I looked back at the old man, whose lips were drawn in a thin line. "The young master speaks the truth, yes. It is as I said, the soulless demons, they are under her command."

"You do know that sounds too good to be true, right?" I asked Roman. He shrugged, putting his hands into his pockets as he stood up.

"Not the most far fetched thing I've heard lately," he said. "I mean, have you ever heard of zombies who reform when they die? This isn't really stranger than the story of the four maidens, is it?"

I blinked. Yes. That was right. The four maidens were just a fairy tale for me until a while ago, now I know they are real, and worse yet, Cinder was one of them, a quarter of absolute power.

"Four?" I said. The old man looked confused for a moment. "Four lord souls, you said. Where can I find them?"

If anything, I could just ask my friends for help, find information about this and see if his words were true. If they were, a global effort against the destruction of all Grimm could be organized, and we could find those souls together.

"They have left the shrine to look for hosts as the Age of Dark came," the old man explained. "It is doubtful that the souls will return willingly to recreate the first flame, however."

"Hosts?" I asked.

"Humans," he said. "Specific ones. Those that fit them perfectly, and move between hosts as each one dies."

"Like the four maidens," I muttered. "How do I find them, then?"

"Just being near them," he said. "You will immediately know it is a lord soul. Doubtless, their hosts will be beings of immeasurable power."

I thought back to Cinder, her absolute control of the new powers she had stolen. Shuddering, I pursed my lips. Maybe the similarities were a bit too close to simply be coincidence.

"Alright," I said. "I don't promise anything, but I'll take a look, alright?"

"Of course," he said. "The ashen masters are drawn to stronger souls time after time, after all…"

"Okay," Roman said, clapping his hands. "Now that this is done, and I'm feeling like some stale bread inside the stomach of a Griffon again, I have a favor to ask."

I blinked at him. A favor? Really? After the whole thing just a few minutes ago?

"It's _really_ important to me," he said, sounding worried. I sighed.

"Shoot," I said. He smiled at me, his palms still pressed together.

"I have this friend," he said.

"You mean accomplice."

"Yes, _friend_ ," he said, putting a lot of emphasis on the word this time. "She might be a bit worried about me considering we've been gone for weeks."

"You mean your _accomplice_ has no idea you're dead?" I asked, stressing the word.

"Well, nobody really saw me die except for one annoying little shit, and the hunters are _probably_ gonna release the news of my 'death'," he said, making quotation marks with his fingers. I shook my head, trying not to laugh.

"Alright, sorry, this is getting ridiculous," I said. I had to stop myself from mirroring him with the quotation marks just because. "You want me to tell her you're alright?"

"Well, I'm stuck here," I said. "So it'd be really nice if you could just write her a message that I'm okay and faked my death."

"Alright;" I said.

"I know it's a lot to ask- wait, alright?" he said, his eyebrows rising in surprise.

"I said 'alright'," I repeated, my hands itching up. No quotation marks, that's just stupid. He infected me with stupid. "Just tell me how to contact her and I will do it."

"Thanks!"

He sounded too happy. When he stepped forward with his arms spread wide, I took a step back.

"No hugs," I said. "I'm still very disgusted with you."

"Awww." He actually sounded hurt. "I thought we were friends now! Friends in death! Don't let the sins of our alive selves taint our friendship!"

"No," I said, taking another step back. "Absolutely not."

He took steps forward, becoming quicker. When he tried to jump towards me, I dodged to the left, letting his face smash into a wall behind me.

"No," I repeated. "Don't make me stab you with the crown."


	8. Souls and Aura

**Chapter 8**

* * *

I touched the crown on my head. Something I will have to get used to for now. Thinking back to the old man's words, I imagined the portal that led us out. Something that would bring me back to Vytal. I _could_ just walk towards the area again, but I needed this practice.

With a small flash, a ring of black and white appeared in front of me and spread, opening a portal back to alley in Vytal. Something was off.

I could smell it in the air. Not smell, I had no real sense of smell or taste anymore. The number of souls had increased. not just the weak ones from the normal people, there were more strong souls too. More like hunters.

Hoping that I hadn't wasted too much time here, I stepped through, and was greeted by the sound of screams.

I saw one of the hunters from before. A blond man, lying on the ground, holding two swords in front of him like a scissor, locked into a battle of strength with a masked man. A mask that I had been very familiar with by now.

The White Fang.

The gloves that clashed with the swords kept releasing steam every time they inched towards the hunter's throat.

I had to act. Grabbing my sword, I rushed forward, my knee smashing into the man's face. He rolled away, his aura flashing.

"Ms. Nikos," the blonde hunter said, standing up. "Thank you."

I couldn't have been gone for longer than half an hour.

"What happened?" I asked, holding my weapon in front of me.

He shook his head. "Since that attack two weeks ago," he said. I swallowed, it really hadn't been that much time. "The White Fang has grown cocky, but to attack Vytal of all places…"

The bulky member of said group didn't seem inclined to let us continue our conversation and roared, swinging his fist as he moved towards us.

"I can take him," the hunter said as he stepped in front of me, blocking the attack. "Please, take care of the others, we need to evacuate the civilians, the Grimm will use this to their advantage."

I nodded, turning around to run towards the screaming. Civilians left and right were running out of their homes as smoke bombs smashed through windows, Faunus terrorists cheering as they rounded them up.

"Hey!" I shouted. They turned towards me. "Pick a fight with someone who can take it!"

One of them stepped forward, spreading his arms as if inviting me to challenge him.

"Come on, kid, I can take you on my own," he said.

Maybe he didn't know who I was, or maybe he knew and didn't care.

My grip around my weapon clenched. I wish I had my shield, but the broken pieces of scrap metal couldn't just be repaired without the money or material I didn't have. As he came closer, I could feel the pull of souls. His was weak.

I spun on my left heel as he swung his fist towards my head, dodging the attack. It missed my face by a hair's width. Smashing my elbow into his gut made him keel over. The next hit came from the hilt of my sword, right at the back of his head. Aura spluttered and he fell unconscious.

"Weak," I said, glaring at the men and women in front of me. They stepped forward together this time, all five of them. Using my head, I tried to point the civilians away from the fighting. Luckily, they didn't need me to tell them twice and sneaked away as the White Fang was busy with me.

I don't think I could take them all at once where I was right now, but I had one advantage, something they didn't have.

When two of them stepped forward, using knives, I didn't dodge. Instead, I let them stab me. When they did, grinning, laughing as their success, I dropped my sword and grabbed their heads, smashing them together. They fell over, letting go of their knives.

I pulled them out of my chest, embers dripping from the wounds as they healed.

The two men scrambled away in fear, and I could see the others were unnerved by the display as well. Taking advantage of the situation, I reached out to my sword with my Semblance, sending it towards one of them, aiming for the leg. It didn't penetrate through his shield, but succeeded in knocking him down. The two scrambling men fled.

Two down, three to go.

"Cowards!" one of the women shouted. She pulled out a gun, aiming it at me. I nudged her aim away from me, towards the other woman who was attempting to attack from the flank. When she fired, the other woman dodged, out of balance but unhurt.

I rolled forward before she could recover, slamming the knives into the dropped man's clothes to pin him down before picking up my sword. The woman corrected her aim this time, and I lifted my weapon to block the bullet.

Not fast enough. The bullet tore through my shoulder, skin and sinew coming together almost as quickly as they came apart. I could feel my strength seeping out of my muscles, but I had a while before I reached the threshold of falling apart. The second woman, the one that the gunner had shot at, grabbed me.

The pinned man freed himself with sheer strength, and slammed his fist into my stomach. No aura, no shield, just pain. A small blessing that his fists did nothing to increase the feeling of weakness though.

"Hold her down," the gun-woman ordered. The other two obeyed, and she aimed her pistol right between my eyes. I was vaguely aware that it wouldn't have hurt me anyway, but I the idea of allowing her to keep shooting at me to figure out my new threshold did not appeal.

Instead, I used my Semblance, throwing off her aim fast enough that the bullet pierced the man's shoulder in my place. He screamed, his grip slackening and I freed my wrist, twisting his arm and throwing him at the gunner.

Dodging a swipe by the other woman's hand, I used my leg to sweep her legs out from under her and followed up with a sharp kick to her head. She looked out of it, but not quite unconscious. The man was lying on the woman, keeping them both down as he struggled to regain his bearing.

I attacked before she could muster the strength to push him away, knocking the man out before pushing my blade against her neck.

She squeaked, letting go of the gun.

It wasn't blood that I heard rushing in my ears. This one, compared to the others, was stronger. Not quite on the level of the hunters that had arrested Roman, but still strong.

And I could feel it. The pull on her souls. Her aura. I could feel my hands trying to tap into her power, trying to make me stronger. I let them.

"Don't hurt me!" she shouted.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I said, my hand gripping her forehead. "I'm just going to make sure you'll never hurt anyone again."

I pulled. The woman screamed, her mask clattering to the ground as my grip loosened it and I could see the fear in her eyes. I felt… whole. Sated. The pull stopped and the woman was whimpering on the ground. I could no longer feel any aura from her.

I… had I just done that? I could feel the power growing inside me, the souls I had taken from her, the power of that aura. It reminded me of Amber and how she lost half her powers to Cinder.

I felt sick. The woman was sobbing, and I didn't _want_ to feel guilty about removing a dangerous person's ability to hurt others.

No, it didn't matter. I had to continue, and the urge to pull out the power from the other two was not there, their souls too weak. When I moved forward, towards the hunter's base of operations, near the wall, I found Ametrine and the green haired man finishing up a bunch of enemies.

And behind them, through the blown open gates, were the Grimm.

They didn't even look at me as they rushed out, about to fight them off. And I didn't call out to them. There must be other civilians around, those White Fang members couldn't have been the last of them.

"Well," I heard someone speak. Turning around, I found the two members that had ran away with a lean man, his hands on a large sword about his size. "I expected more from someone who took down my boys."

The man was dressed slightly differently, and his mask had a more elaborate design. His black hair was done in a ponytail, flowing down his back.

"I expected more from people who demand equality," I said. "Were the hundreds of people you took in Vale not enough already?"

He grinned, his teeth visibly shining. "Scram."

The two men that led him here ran away again, and he held his sword in two hands.

"Come."

I couldn't reach out to the sword with my aura, so my Semblance would be useless here. Something about him was different, I could feel nothing about him, not unlike a Grimm. When he slowly moved forward, step after step, I grew worried.

A sword like this without the strength of an aura? Impossible. He was dangerous.

I kept my sword up, not moving from the spot. When he was three meters away at most, I jumped backwards. An electric feeling ran up my spine as he came closer. His aura was massive, maybe as strong as the experienced hunters fighting the Grimm off behind me.

"So you can feel it," he said, his grin still splitting his face. "My territory. You can't sneak up on me, and you can't feel me outside of it."

"You're quite open about your power," I said, narrowing my eyes.

"Of course," he said. "I'm quite proud of it. The absolute field cannot be beaten."

"So you say," I said. When he came closer again, I ran towards a building, jumping towards it and using it to jump behind him. When I came close, about to attack, his sword was already there to meet me.

He was quick, but he couldn't stop attacks from two directions. I dropped my sword, crouching low and letting his swing go over my head. My fist smashed into his chest, a futile attempt. It wasn't to actually hurt him though.

The sword I had dropped cut into his leg. I didn't expect to actually draw blood, nor did he expect to be hurt. When he flinched, I moved away. He had no shield.

That must be the tradeoff for that 'absolute' field of his. He couldn't react to two attacks, and my element of surprise was gone now. Instead of waiting for me to make a move, he attacked, the sword slamming into mine.

My arms stung, shaking as the force of the blow forced me to take several steps back.

"Cavalry's here," I heard someone behind me say. The White Fang leader's sword swung to block a bullet, giving me enough time to recover from the force of the blow. The blonde haired hunter from before was there, holding the gun of the defeated White Fang woman.

"Thanks," I said. He aimed again, firing multiple times. Forcing the White Fang leader to block each attempt and giving me some breathing room.

"Don't worry about it, let's take this guy down, the town's been evacuated."

I nodded.

The man wasn't grinning anymore.

"What's your name?" I asked the blonde man.

"Giallo," he said. He dropped the gun, pulling out his two swords from before.

"Pyrrha."

The White Fang leader all but roared, his leg still bleeding. He swung his sword at my neck, and then quickly used the momentum to spin like a wheel, lowering his swing as I ducked and slammed into my sword once more. Giallo attacked from above, kicking the man out of his spin before smashing his twin swords against the next swing.

Picking up the gun, I aimed at the man's legs again, not inclined to aim at a more lethal spot and fired. It hit, wounding him. Instead of flinching, he just pressed forward much stronger, knocking Giallo away and stabbing forward. Giallo groaned in pain, his aura protecting him from the lethal attack.

Not letting up, he stabbed again, and I fired the gun once more. The bullet was cut in half as the stab turned into a swing into my direction.

My grip on the gun tightened, and I stepped forward, blocking his swing with my sword and smashing the gun at his head. It bled, and it must have hurt, but the man was relentless, repeating his spin from before to knock me away and prevent Giallo from sneaking up behind him.

I kicked his wound when his spin stopped, his leg collapsing from under him. On his knees, I could attack his head easier this time, smashing my sword's hilt into his forehead. This time, he looked out of it, and Giallo stabbed him through the shoulders, knocking him over.

I felt weak, my arms hurt, my chest was burning. When my hand grabbed the White Fang leader's head, I couldn't stop myself.

I felt disgusted. I felt eager.

"Whew." Giallo sighed. "This guy was way more annoying than the other one, what are you doing?"

I was already done, the man on the ground could make no sound as his face was pressed into the ground.

"Just… just making sure he won't wake up for now," I said. Giallo nodded, apparently not noticing what had happened even as the strange field around us vanished. He couldn't see the souls.

I sighed. I would need to visit the old man in a while more. The green haired hunter and Ametrine finished the Grimm outside.

I sat down, holding my chest as the burning feeling subsided. What exactly had I become? And why was it so hard for me to feel bothered by it?


	9. Burning and Loss

**Chapter 9**

* * *

It came as no surprise to me that relationships between Atlas and the other three kingdoms have become rather strained since the Vytal Festival. Atlas was quick to reveal the details of the attack, blaming Roman and the White Fang for the amok robots. Unfortunately for them, the fact that they let their system be compromised led to more accusations thrown at their feet.

Admittedly, maybe they should have built a system that was more secure. Something that couldn't have been compromised so easily and so quickly by a group of terrorists. I didn't blame Atlas for the attack on Vale, but their neglect made them responsible for some of the damage.

Considering all that, there _was_ a surprise worth noting. Both Yang and I weren't mentioned in the news at all. The live footage of us screwing up couldn't be recovered after the complete takeover of the system. Some people actually began to doubt that the events had transpired the way they saw them.

Which was wrong, but it was a relief that not everyone would look at me like a murderer.

I could do that on my own whenever I see my reflection.

The long and sharp crown sat on the top of my head. Nobody had commented on it, but I had seen Giallo stare at it a few times. I still hadn't returned to Firelink Shrine after absorbing the souls of those two White Fang members, and until we were on the mainland of Vale, I had no inclination to. The school had opened again just two days ago.

"Are you going home?" Giallo asked, sitting next to me in the airship. Yesterday, we received orders on what to do with the White Fang members we had captured. When the replacement for Giallo's team came to Vytal, we began the transport towards Vale for them to be arrested and put into jail proper. They were bound and gagged, transported into special capsules that would prevent the use of aura.

Not that the two of them needed such restraints.

The burning hunger had subsided, an emptiness settling in me. I didn't feel the urge to grasp for the aura of Giallo and his teammates, but I couldn't say how long it would stay that way.

I glanced at Giallo, considering his question for a moment. "No," I said, shaking my head. My mother must have watched the festival, watched me kill Penny. She probably heard about my death. The feeling of cold dread crawled over my skin as I imagined her weeping over the news.

It might be heartless, but I had other people to worry about first. People who were attacked by the White Fang.

"I'll call her," I said. "Tell her I'm alright, as soon as I can get my hands on a scroll of my own."

"Not that hard to come by, you know?" he said.

"I don't have any money on me, and my bank probably froze my accounts."

"Right, nearly dying might do that," he said. Apparently having me appear after my reported death led to their own ideas of what had happened. The question of how I ended up in Vytal of all places was probably more confusing than how I had survived despite Ruby witnessing my demise. "You know, I don't think I saw that crown with you when you came to us. Where did you get it?"

"It was a gift," I answered simply, pursing my lips.

"It doesn't fit you."

"I know."

Silence settled for a moment until the a door in the ship opened, revealing the orange haired huntress. Ametrine took a seat next to Giallo, her hands on her knees.

"We'll arrive in an hour," she said. She looked tired. Worn out. I felt the same, but my body didn't show such things anymore. From now on, I was in pristine condition, no matter what.

Better yet. If I actually concentrated on it, I could use the souls in me to repair my clothes and armor. Finding out about that wasn't hard, it happened so quickly I almost didn't notice. Unfortunately, I couldn't repair my shield like that. As soon as I had some time to relax, I would work on it.

I just needed money first. With the reports of my death, my bank account was probably frozen, even if I had a debit card. Sighing, I concentrated on other more pressing matters.

"You said the White Fang has grown cocky," I said to Giallo.

He nodded, turning his head to face me. "Since that attack on Vale, tensions between humans and faunus have reached a new high," he said. "The White Fang used that as a springboard. Justifying attacks on human settlements, giving the faunus that live there a chance to join them and be treated like humans."

"Increasing their numbers," I muttered. That wasn't good. It would simply snowball until they had enough power to do some serious damage. If they had no qualms about using Grimm in their attacks and endangering people indiscriminately… "What's being done to stop them?"

"Global efforts are hard to keep together when relationships are strained," Giallo said. "Atlas wants to help, but nobody wants a repeat of Vale. The leaders can barely find a consensus."

"What about Vacuo?"

"Vacuo has been under a lot of pressure lately, keeping off the Grimm. The White Fang isn't making it any easier with their guerilla tactics." Factor in the fact that Vacuo had the largest faunus population among the Kingdoms and I could see why they were struggling.

This had to be stopped.

Jaune. Nora. Ren. Weiss. Ruby. Yang. Blake.

I had to find them. Ask about the lord souls. Learn anything I could. If the governments couldn't keep the White Fang under control and protect the citizens at the same time, the only way to deal with this would be by defeating the root of all evil.

If the Grimm were gone. If the Grimm could be destroyed, we would be safe, and we could work on defeating the White Fang together.

And if I had any more run ins with the White Fang, I could take care of them as I had done with the two locked up members in the ship.

I couldn't say just why I was sure of that. Why exactly I knew that they couldn't just recover their aura again by having someone help them unlock it. I would call it a gut feeling, if it wasn't for the fact that all my gut feelings lately have been burning hunger or sickness accompanied by cold.

"And Mistral?" I asked. It was where I came from, where my mother was.

"They've been the most successful in keeping the White Fang at bay," he said. "I heard you're still kind of a big deal there."

I fidgeted in my seat. "I haven't been in Mistral for a long time."

And I doubted that the big deal they made about me was positive at all considering Penny.

"Verdi got all pissed," Ametrine said. I looked at her. She just shrugged, smiling. "Our team leader, Giallo's brother."

"Ah," I said. The green haired man. They didn't really resemble each other, but I hadn't had time to meet all of them considering how out I was after Roman's arrest and the list.

That damn list.

"Why is he angry?" I asked. I hadn't seen much of a temper from him besides his outburst to arrest Roman, he seemed rather quiet while fighting off the Grimm as well.

"We were supposed to receive backup a while ago, the situation didn't get out of hand, thanks to you, but…" She trailed off, looking away. "If you hadn't been there, the White Fang might have actually managed to kill people. We're very thankful."

"Don't mention it," I said. I couldn't let any more people get hurt. "It's why I wanted to become a huntress. To help people."

"That's what most people do it for," she said. "Some like the recognition they get, and how easy it is to earn money."

"I don't think it matters," I said. Jaune came to mind quite quickly. "Why you become a hunter, I mean. There's hard work involved, a lot of studying, and eventually, putting your life on the line."

"I suppose," Ametrine said, shrugging. "That's quite mature of you. I wish more students were like you."

I laughed it off. If there were more of me, maybe I wouldn't be treated so differently compared to my peers.

"No, we need all kinds of personalities," I said. "They make the world more colorful."

"If you say so," Giallo said, facing the wall on the other side of the ship, his eyes shifting towards me. A nervous gesture. "I got a question, though, I hope you don't mind."

"Go ahead," I said immediately.

"Hear me out before you agree to answer," he said, waving his hands in front of me as he turned. Ametrine narrowed his eyes at him. "It's about your fight at the festival."

"Oh," I said. Of course they knew. They hadn't mentioned it, but… yes, of course they knew. "Oh."

"I think that's that," Ametrine interrupted us, putting a hand on Giallo's shoulder. "No need to talk with him about something like that, sometimes such things happen, just be glad it wasn't a hum-"

"She was!" I blurted out, almost shouting. My face heated up as I became aware of their stares. I felt sick again. "Even if she didn't bleed, she was human. I… I killed her."

"I'm sorry," Ametrine said. She sounded sorry, at least. "That was impolite of me to say."

Swallowing a lump in my throat, I stared at the ceiling, fidgeting in my seat again. "It's alright, I'm - I'm not sure what exactly happened there. I started to see things that weren't there, I overreacted, lashed out."

"It happens," Giallo said, his voice soft. "When adrenaline is pumping through you like that, you get a tunnel vision, you mess up. There's nothing unnatural about that."

"To others maybe," I said, heat in my voice. "I've been in many battles like that, though, such things just don't happen to me."

It might sound a bit arrogant when put like that, but I didn't really have any other way of explaining it. Back when I was less skilled and I worked my way to the top, back when I fought people faster than me, stronger than me in Mistral, these things never happened.

"If you say so," Giallo said, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back slightly. "Sorry for bringing it up. I'm kind of a foot in mouth person."

I held my arms over my stomach, leaning forward. My eyes were burning, but I couldn't cry. I'm sure that with the feeling in my stomach, I would be vomiting if I could too.

"Anyone want something to eat?" Giallo asked as he stood up.

"No," I said. "I'm not hungry."

"Suit yourself," he said. I saw him turn to Ametrine, and both of them just turned and left, leaving me alone in the room.

I couldn't remember the last time I ate something. Drinking the tasteless tea has been uncomfortable to say the least, and I doubted that forcing myself to eat something would lead to better results.

I wondered how Roman was dealing with this. If he was feeling the same way, or if he was simply apathetic to the whole situation. Despite his company, I was alone in this. I had to deal with this alone until I found my friends.

It wasn't like I could tell just anyone that I suddenly feel the urge to suck out the aura of everyone near me.

"Jaune…" I muttered. How would he take it? How would the others? Ren and Nora, I knew them well enough, I knew that they would just be glad that I'm back and not care about the whole undead thing. But as much as I knew Jaune, the last time I saw him, I sent him off and walked to my death.

I sent him off, and ended up like this. Would he forgive me? I couldn't say. My eyes drifted shut. I wasn't tired. I wish I could just sleep, but that comfort was also taken from me with my heartbeat.

The White Fang would pay for this. Cinder would pay for this.

Anger was not something I was used to. I couldn't even tell if this feeling in my chest was 'anger' or 'hunger'. While the dreadful pull on the souls of people near me was not there, the fact that I had a large problem with differentiating between these impulses meant bad news.

I had to find a way to control myself. If I lost control, I would lose control of everything, I might even lose my friends.

Distracting myself for the better part of an hour wasn't hard. I meditated, just as I did in the shrine, waiting to see if anyone else would join Roman and me.

When the airship came to a halt, Ametrine and Giallo finally returned. Verdi and the fourth member of their team stepped out of the door that Ametrine had initially came in from and moved towards the exit ramp.

I stood up, stepping behind them as the large doors opened to let us out. When the ramp extended towards the ground, the four members of the hunter team from Vytal moved out.

If I wasn't mistaken, this was Industrial District of Vale. Which meant that I wasn't that far from Beacon anymore. While landing at the school would have been preferable, the prisoners had to be carted off and given to the actual law enforcement officers.

Hunters had a certain influence in all the kingdoms, they were needed and trained to defend against the Grimm. Despite that, law enforcement was still necessary, policemen and women keeping the citizens safe from other citizens. Even with their aura unlocked, they couldn't really be compared to huntsmen.

They didn't train as hard, didn't work as hard as hunters and huntresses did in the schools, and it was part of the reason Atlas had such a great influence by deploying law enforcement machines.

Until they were turned against us. The district looked worn down, but mostly repaired. People were keeping their heads up.

At least there was that. Glad that the attack hasn't completely broken the spirit of the people in the city, I stepped out as well. A dozen police officers stood at attention in front of the airship, one of them speaking with Verdi.

"As promised, a bunch of White Fang members," Verdi said, pointing at the airship. "They're inside, ready to be locked away."

"Thank you," the police officer said. The rest of the officers moved in, getting the capsules where the criminals were locked up in. "You said something about Roman Torchwick?"

"Yes," Verdi nodded. "He committed suicide after being arrested. Some kind of bomb that turned his body into ashes, nothing could be recovered."

My heart sank. I still promised Roman to text his [i]accomplice[/i] and tell her that he's okay. Until I had a scroll of my own, I couldn't do that. My priorities right now were to find my friends and contact my mother. The former could help me with the latter, but to contact Roman's friend, I needed money.

"Alright, that's something, at least," the police officer said. "One less thing to worry about."

"Indeed."

I looked away, not fast enough to escape their attention.

"Everything alright?" Ametrine asked.

"N- Yes, everything is okay, I just…" I sighed, shaking my head. "I just want to get to Beacon quickly. See if my friends are okay."

"I think the officers might need a statement from you," Verdi said. "About Torchwick and Cinder."

"What does it matter?" I asked, crossing my arms. "Torchwick is dead, right? And I don't know where Cinder went after she-"

She killed me. Yeah, I couldn't say that.

"It's alright, Ms. Nikos," the police officer said. "We have all the necessary information, you can leave towards your school."

I blinked. Really? Was it so simple.

"We might contact you later on," he said diplomatically. "But we won't hold you up any longer. Please call the precinct at your leisure in due time."

No questions about Penny? No bothering me until I came with them? Either something was very fishy, or they were actually trying to be nice.

Whichever it was, I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Giving him a smile that was just a little bit strained, I took off, walking towards Beacon.

It would take a while, but I no longer tired after walking a certain distance.

Just to make sure that I wasn't being followed, however, I ducked into an alley halfway through the district and concentrated on the crown.

A portal opened, and I stepped through quickly.

Only to find Roman sitting in front of the old man, laughing. After a few seconds, Roman asked a question.

"So, what was she like?"

"Ah, she had many daughters," the old man said said. "Each more beautiful than the one before that…"

"You old lecher, ahahaha," Roman slapped his thighs, creating a loud sound. The old man did not look very happy with Roman's description of him, but said nothing. Instead, his gaze moved towards me, and Roman also took notice of my appearance.

"You look stronger," Roman said.

"I feel stronger," I said. "The White Fang attacked Vytal. I defeated some of them and took two of them out with… something."

"Something?" Roman asked.

"I sucked their auras dry," I answered. "Took their souls or whatever the old man calls them. They can't use their aura anymore."

Roman's eyes widened, and a shit-eating grin spread on his face. "My, my, Pyrrha Nikos, what a nasty secret. You think you can do that to anyone?"

"Only if someone holds them down for me or they can't resist," I said. "It takes a few seconds. I need to hold their heads for a while."

He stared at his hand in interest, shrugging as if dismissing it.

"Well, I have a person in mind whom I wouldn't mind drying out, but I don't think that's gonna happen with a bounty on my head."

"They think you're dead," I said.

"They will know I can return from the dead if they see me walking after blowing my head up."

"You have a point." I nodded, stepping towards the old man as he stood up. When he knelt and raised his hands, I gave him my hand again.

A gut-punching souls-wrenching moment later, I felt stronger again, and Roman sighed.

"Did you contact Neo?" he asked. Neo, his friend. Accomplice. Whatever.

"No money, can't contact anyone without a scroll or public phone," I said.

"Stop being so noble and steal something, dammit," he muttered. "If they know about my death already, she might do something stupid."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Like look for a new employer!" Roman said. "I'm really dependent on her help, look at me! I'm weak!"

"I don't think you employ friends," I said. He scowled, shrugging.

"Friend or not, you can't survive without money," he countered. "Let's just say that being her employer got us a bit closer."

"Uh Huh." I smiled. "You sure you aren't worried she might look for another boyfriend?"

"Ha," he said, snorting. "Nope, definitely not like that. I got my reasons for worrying about her, and you got your reasons for worrying about your friends. Let's just leave it at that."

"What happened to 'friends in undeath'?" I asked. He sighed, swiping his hand in front of him and bowing with flourish.

"I offered you my hand in friendship, but you refused," he said, theatrically. "Oh woe is me."

It was my turn to snort, giggles shaking my body. The old man sat down next to the fire again, and I took a seat as well.

"I'm waiting a bit until I'm sure they're not following me," I said. "So, what were you talking about?"

"Nothing," Roman said.

"The people I used to know," the old man answered at the same time. Roman grumbled. That did make me curious.

"How old are you exactly? Considering the whole undead thing, I mean."

The old man hummed, his eyes drawn towards the flame.

"I cannot recall my age," he said. "But I remember many kingdoms rising and falling. Times from before this world was called Remnant."

"What was it called?" I asked. I don't think any recorded history of times before 'Remnant' actually existed.

"The kingdoms had many names," he said. "The world had none."

"So it was just called nothing before it was called Remnant?" I asked. Roman scoffed.

"So what were the kingdoms called then?" Roman asked.

"I can only remember one," he said. "The first kingdom. Lordran."

Again with the lords. I suppose that the souls must have had their origin somewhere.

"Sounds like my kinda place," Roman said. "What kinda king rules a place and names it _Lord_ ran?"

"A foolish old man," he said, taking a glance at me. "Who made a mistake that still haunts the world today."

"Oh?" Roman asked.

"I see my story interests you, young master," the old man said. "But I am not so open as to give away everything for free. Do you wish for a deal?"

I tilted my head. He was ready to answer all our questions so easily, but suddenly he clammed up.

"What deal?" I asked. What could an old man like him want.

"If you can tell me my name," he said. "I will tell you everything."

I furrowed my eyebrows, staring at the old man. He sounded serious.

"Huh, how should we know your name?" Roman asked. "I mean, most you told me was about some chick and her daughters and your kids."

"You had children?"

The old man looked at me, his beard swinging with the movement of his head.

"Perhaps there is something else you could do," he said, smiling slightly. It was the first real change in the old man's facial expression I had seen up until now. "For every lord soul you bring here, I will reveal to you their history."

Considering my plans for those lord souls, if the old man's words were true, I had no reason not to accept.

"Okay," I said. Looking to Roman, who was staring at the ceiling in confusion as he muttered name after name. "And you work on finding out his name."

"I don't even know in which language!" Roman said. "Alright, let's see, Andreas? Atilla?"

I coughed, trying to suppress my laughter as he seriously attempted to go down a list of names just for that.

The information might be interesting, but if it won't help me find those souls I needed, they weren't of priority.

Stepping away from the fire and towards the wall, I imagined the portal again and stepped out of the alley in Vale.

Nobody was near me. I couldn't feel any strong auras that could be hunters or police officers.

Stepping forward, I moved towards the Residential District. The place where most people lived, and the place where most people were attacked as the Grimm ripped through the city's' defenses.

I was impressed. Less by the repairs and more by the people I encountered. Nobody paid attention to me as I stepped over a bridge into the Residential District, nobody took a second glance despite the rather atrocious looking crown on the top of my head. And all of them looked content. The fact that I flew under the radar might come due to the sheer amount of people around me, forming a crowd where I wasn't standing out in.

Moving to the right when I saw a less busy street so I could move a bit quicker, I found myself staring at a few stores I was familiar with. The efforts to repair the city as Giallo explained have apparently helped.

Two weeks wasn't a lot of time. Maybe I overestimated the amount of damages done. Or perhaps I underestimated the dedication the citizens of this kingdom brought to the table, the determination to see their homes again.

The city in Vytal wouldn't be so empty for much longer either. The civilians would return. Everything would be fine.

Until the White Fang decides to attack again. Something in the corner caught my attention as I crossed the street. Three men standing above someone. I turned my head, took a closer look.

The three men were kicking someone on the ground.

Inside Beacon, a sight like this wouldn't bother me too much. People were… encouraged to fight for themselves, show determination and spirit. If you can't deal with a bunch of bullies, what chance did you have against Grimm? Jaune stood up for himself eventually.

But here? In the middle of the street in Vale when everyone should be working together? When people should avoid such discrimination so the White Fang wouldn't grow even larger?

I wasn't happy.

Pursing my lips, I stepped forward, clenching my hands into fists.

"Hey!" I shouted, moving into the alles. The three men turned to me. "Stop that."

It wasn't a request as much as a command. Steel was in my voice, and the men noticed. Still, they were cocky, arrogant. One of them stepped forward.

"Or what?" he asked. "Scum like this deserves it. They attacked us first!"

"I don't see that man wearing a White Fang symbol on him," I said. I wish I hadn't found myself growling when one of the men scoffed. Maybe the fact that I couldn't feel much of a difference between 'anger' and 'hunger' made me more irritated.

But being aware of a deficit, or a fatal flaw in your behavior, did nothing to prevent you from playing right into that behavior.

And instead of letting them do the first move this time, I stepped forward stomping my feet into the ground and punched the first one in the gut. The force of the blow was enough to make him keel over, falling towards the ground face first. I think I heard him throw up behind me, but I didn't turn around to check.

Instead, when the second man stepped forward and threw a fist at my head, I deflected his fist with my hand and jumped, knocking my knee into his face. He was out too. I was stronger, and they didn't even have their aura unlocked.

The third man didn't even try fighting. Instead, he turned and ran away. I could have stopped him, but there were more important things to worry about. Like the faunus who was staring at me with fearful eyes.

He was clothing his head, cuts and bruises all over his face. Kneeling down in front of him, I offered a hand.

"Come up," I said. "They won't bother you again."

That burning feeling again. I couldn't tell what emotion was boiling up in me right now. Even though those two deserved the beatdown, I wasn't sure if 'anger' was appropriate here.

Even taking down the White Fang in Vytal was more a feeling of 'being sated' rather than 'accomplishment'.

The man took my hand and I helped him up.

"Thank you," he said, his words barely audible. He could barely open his mouth correctly. The dog on the top of his head twitched.

"You better get to a hospital," I said. He nodded, giving me a strained smile. I smiled back at him. When he left, I gave the two men on the ground a glare. I could call the police, but I didn't want to be held up, and I don't think that they would just let me go this time.

They aren't hurt too hard. The man whose jaw met his upper teeth a bit too hard was already coming to, so I just left them there.

Stepping over to him, his eyes a bit glassy, I grabbed his collar. "Hey, blink if you can hear me."

His eyes shifted from right to left, as if looking for some kind of escape route out of my grip. When my fingers tightened around his clothes, he blinked repeatedly, panicked.

"Don't attack people just because you're looking for a scapegoat. The White Fang is your enemy, not the faunus," I said. "So fight them if you want to fight. Blink if you understand."

He blinked. I let go of him, and he groaned.

Great. Now I was actually beating up civilians. And I didn't feel particularly bothered. I sighed.

Leaving the alley, I stared towards east, where Beacon was. The sun was already setting, and it'd be night by the time I arrived at the school. It might actually do me a favor if all the students were in their dorm.

Now that I thought about it, there were a few things in the dorm that I could use.

Moving again, my way became less and less crowded the closer to Beacon I got. And by the time the sun had set, I stood in front of the castle.

The lanterns illuminated the way for me towards the school that had housed me for the past months, where I had met my best friends. Where I had met the person I fell in love with.

And the broken tower that had not been repaired compared to the city. Where the dragon had been, and Cinder and I had fought.

It was… quiet. Usually, especially towards the sunset, the students were still outside. I shook my head. Stepping towards the dormitories, I felt hope well up in my chest.

Inside, I heard voices. On the lowest floor of the dorms, people were actually sitting. Not as many as there used to be, but students were there.

When I stepped in, all the talking stopped. People looked towards me, most of them with shocked expressions on their faces. Coco Adel stood up, her large machine gun aimed at me.

"Who are you?" she asked. I blinked.

"Pyrrha?" I tried. She narrowed her eyes, her sunglasses sliding down her nose.

"Nice try. Pyrrha died two weeks ago-"

I raised my hands. I couldn't really blame them for being suspicious, but the fact that her words set the others on edge as well wasn't good.

"I'm… I didn't die, things happened, I'm not sure, but I woke up in Vytal just a while ago," I said. She didn't look like she believed me.

Coco's weapon made a small click, and I pointed my hands forward, using my Semblance to point the weapon down. It wasn't quite where it used to be, but enough for me to make a quick escape.

Before I could do just that, however, Coco let go of her weapon, raising her hands as well. The rest of the students relaxed.

"It's you," she said. I wanted to kick myself. Why didn't I just do this from the very start? Everyone knows my Semblance. "You're… you're alive!"

"I am," I said, looking at the floor as I lowered my arms. Coco stepped forward, giving me a once over.

"That crown doesn't fit your style," she said. I sighed, my shoulders slumping. Some things don't change, and she was the third person who had to mention that already.

Suddenly, she grabbed me in a bear hug. I wasn't really friends with her or anyone besides my team and team RWBY.

"You're cold," she said. I knew. I had been the whole time, despite the embers that danced on some spots of my skin after the defeat of the Champion. "Beacon… hasn't been the same since Ozpin vanished. When we heard we also lost one of our students, a lot of us were feeling horrible about it."

I understood. Kind of. It wasn't so much that they were glad that _I_ was okay, but that every Beacon student was safe and accounted for.

"Where's my team?" I asked. She let go of me, stepping back a bit. "Coco?"

"They dropped out," Fox Alistair said. "Both Team JNPR and RWBY. Yang is still in recovery last I heard, Weiss is in Atlas."

"What?" I asked. "Dropped out?! Why? Wait, recovery?"

It was too much. I couldn't ask them all the questions at once. Priorities. I couldn't enter my dorm room without my scroll anyway, I'd have to smash the door open, even if that meant drawing the ire of the faculty.

"Yang got her arm cut off by that White Fang leader, Adam Taurus," Coco explained. I bit my lip, poor Yang. "Weiss got picked up by her father last I heard. Nobody knows where Blake is. Ruby and Yang were both brought to Patch."

"They dropped out?" I asked again.

"We don't know why," Coco said. "Your team just left and we heard from Ms. Goodwitch that they won't return, nor will team RWBY."

I lowered my head. All the way here for nothing? No information on where to find whom?

"And my team?" I pleaded. Coco shook her head.

"We don't know where they are either."

I fell to my knees, feeling weak. All the hope I had, all the things I had to tell them. All the things I had to tell Jaune.

Coco put a hand on my shoulder.

Shaking my head, I stood up, removing Coco's hand from my shoulder. I could deal with defeatism later. I…

"I want to get to my dorm," I said. "But I don't have my scroll."

"I think the door is open," Fox said.

"Thank you." I moved towards the stairs before stopping, turning around again. "Did anyone try calling them?"

From the looks on their faces, the answer was probably 'yes' and it didn't help me feel any better.

Taking the stairs, I ended up in the hallway where my room was. Our room. Someone was probably running off towards the main building and contacting Ms. Goodwitch. I had a few minutes before that happened, and so I began digging through my things.

Clothes, my uniform, all kinds of things I had no use for right now, or anymore, considering I could repair them with a thought.

Everything was exactly as I left it, which also meant…

My wallet. Next to my uniform, because I had no place to keep it in my armor, and inside was a bit of cash. Enough to buy me a scroll so I could get into contact with my bank and unfreeze my accounts.

Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated after all. Or something in that direction. I'm not exactly sure how I could explain it, but I don't think I have to with the backing of the police and the hunter team that saw me 'arresting' Roman.

"Pyrrha Nikos," I heard someone say. Turning around, I found myself face to face with Ms. Goodwitch. "I would like an explanation, but first…"

What was it with people's strange insistence to hug me today? The older woman's hug was a lot softer than Coco's had been, but none the less welcome. The blonde woman kept holding me for a while longer.

"You're cold."

"I know."

I was starting to feel kind of annoyed by that.

"Please, come with me, we have a lot of discuss," she said, letting go of me.

"Ms. Goodwitch," I said, stopping her before she could turn around. "What happened to Cinder? I don't think anyone could have stopped her that easily."

"Ruby Rose stopped her," she said. I blinked. Ruby? I don't think anyone could have stopped that monster, especially if she was capable of defeating Ozpin.

"But, but _how_?" I asked.

"Usually, I wouldn't tell you, but you're already aware of certain things," she muttered. "Please, come with me. We can discuss everything in private."

"Okay," I said. Following her through the door towards the stairs.


	10. Information and Trust

**Chapter 10**

* * *

Glynda led me through the lower floor of the dorms on our way towards the headmaster's office before she continued speaking to me. Any question I asked was answered curtly and I was told to stay vigilant until we were there.

Unfortunately for me, the nervousness set me back. The uncertainty brought back that burning feeling in my stomach that made me think of hunger, and I was afraid. How long could I hold it? How long until my fingers clenched around someone I didn't want to hurt?

Shaking my head, I entered the headmaster's office with Glynda. She sat down behind the desk, Ozpin's desk, and motioned for me to take a seat in front of it. I did.

"Before I begin," she said. "I believe we should clear what you know first, and what exactly happened two weeks ago."

I nodded, my hands clenched over my legs. My body felt rigid, tense. Nervousness did not even begin to describe what I was feeling right now.

"I'm not sure," I said, my voice sounding vaguely distant. When the blonde teacher frowned, I hastily continued. "Where to begin, I mean. I'm not sure where it began."

That was kind of a lie. I knew exactly where it began. I just needed to find that thread, to focus on that train of thought. Glynda opened her mouth.

"When the attack started," I began, stopping Glynda. "The headmaster took me to the machine, we tried to have the Maiden's powers transferred, but Cinder came and killed Amber before the process was finished."

She nodded. So she knew? Jaune must've told her.

"I went and fought her after she beat the headmaster," I continued. The burning feeling increased in intensity and my chest began hurting where the arrow had struck. "She killed me."

Glynda blinked. I didn't say anything as she stood up, walking around the desk and up to me before putting a hand on my arm. I was still cold to touch, I'm sure.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I died," I said, my voice croaking the word out. It was one thing discussing it with Roman, who went through the same things, but actually telling someone who was unaware of it all? That was… strange. It felt wrong, as if it was something I shouldn't talk about. Something that I should hide. "I can't breathe anymore, and my heart doesn't beat. My body's cold…"

I wanted to tell her about my hunger for aura, but I couldn't. I didn't want to worry her, or make her suspicious. I trusted her, but I didn't know just how much she trusted me.

"Ms. Nikos," she began, uncertainty in her voice. "Sometimes, during near-death experiences, things might be a bit different than we remember them."

I shook my head as I stood up, the chair falling down behind me. She let go of my arm as I took a few steps to the side. She didn't believe me. But I needed someone to confide in, no matter how wrong it felt.

Grabbing the remains of my weapon, the makeshift sword on my hip, I was about to cut my arm to prove what I was saying. Glynda was faster, raising her wand and stopping my arm from moving with her aura. I felt hungry.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked, her mouth drawn into a thin line.

"Proving that I'm not lying," I said. "I can't be wounded anymore."

"By stabbing yourself?" she said, swinging her wand around and ripping the sword out of my hand. I wasn't able to resist, the experienced woman in front of me much more powerful than I was.

"You don't believe me," I said. What was I doing? Was proving what I was saying so important that I would go this far? I couldn't say, but if there was someone who could help me, it should be her. It would've been her. "If Ozpin was here, he would."

My mouth said the words faster than my brain could process them, and when the pained expression crossed Glynda's face, I regretted them. She shook her head, the sword traveling back to my side with an off-handed swing of her wand. Moving back to Ozpin's seat, she stood besides it.

"I'm sorry-" I immediately said, stopping when she mirrored my words as well. Shaking my head, I spoke up again. "What are you sorry for? I've stepped over the line…"

"You're not wrong, Ms. Nikos," she said, sighing. "The headmaster kept many secrets from everyone, even from me and the others. If there was someone who would know about your condition, it would be him."

I thought so too, of course. Headmaster Ozpin was an enigmatic man with a lot of knowledge in every field. There was a reason people respected him so much, and why there are a lot of people immigrating to Vale to go to his school.

"Then let me fill the blanks," Glynda continued, still not sitting down. "After your defeat by Cinder Fall, Ruby Rose took her down."

"How?" I asked, interrupting her. She continued without missing a beat.

"It seems that Ms. Rose inherited some kind of power from her mother," she said. "Qrow insists that it is not a Maiden's power, but was not very forthcoming on the information. I'm not privy on that information myself, I admit, it was not something that Ozpin had shared with me."

Ruby? A Maiden?

I'd not say that'd be impossible, but the feeling that Cinder had given off, compared to Ruby, was like day and night.

Not different as such. They were both powerful, though Ruby was still rough around the edges, but still contrasting in a way. It was hard to put into words.

"If you wish, I could try to contact Qrow and ask if he knows about what happened to you."

"No," I said, shaking my head. "I… I want to meet my friends."

I trusted her, but she wouldn't just straight up believe me. She didn't believe me when I'd said that I was 'dead', and she wouldn't believe me if I tried to tell her about how an old man told me that the end of all Grimm was within my grasp. As much as she might try, Ozpin's shoes were hard to fill.

"Ah," she said. "Yes, after the attack, we have suffered a few losses. Students who left, team RWBY and JNPR among them."

"Why?" I asked.

"I don't know," she answered. I could see it in her eyes, the worry, the annoyance at being left in the unknown. "Ms. Xiao-Long ended up resigning due to physical injuries. She will be in rehabilitation for a while."

I winced. I would have to visit her soon. I knew where to find her compared to the others.

"Ms. Schnee has… agreed, to drop out on the insistence of her father to undergo with necessary training to inherit the Schnee company," Glynda continued. "And Ms. Belladonna has simply vanished. Ms. Rose's father informed me that Ms. Rose has left with your team."

I nodded. I knew all that, well, most of it, from the information the students had. It seems that she did actually keep them in the loop, and I appreciated that.

"Okay," I said. "Then…"

Then what? I had too much on the plate right now, and I didn't know where to start.

Repair my weapon and shield, buy a scroll and call my mom, visit Yang. In that order. I had all the time in the world. I have no need to sleep, after all.

"Alright," I said. "Then I'll go and contact my mother."

And repair my weapon. And contact Roman's friend. I sighed, the motion coming to me automatically without much of a sound. I became vaguely aware that I couldn't actually sigh as such. Every time I did it, it must have looked strange to onlookers.

"Of course." She nodded. "And, Ms. Nikos…"

I looked towards her before I left the room.

"It's good to have you back."

"I'm glad to be back, Glynda."

Even though I would leave soon, this familiarity was still wonderful.


End file.
